


Starting Again

by spaceyriver



Series: Starting again [1]
Category: Mortal Instruments, Shadowhunters
Genre: Drugs, M/M, Malec, Malec fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2018-12-05 12:41:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11578287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceyriver/pseuds/spaceyriver
Summary: After a heart shattering breakup with this ex girlfriend Camille. Magnus Bane turned to anything to push down the memories and the pain. Anything including drugs and soon enough a few parties turned into non stop partying. A few pills turned into full blow addictions and his friends knew one thing. They had to help him get back to the friend they loved. So having realized what they needed to do they called in the professional. Alec lightwood the best sober coach in his field. He was gonna get Magnus back to himself but there will be trouble along the way.





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is a series of oneshots along the timeline from Magnus and Alec's pov. 
> 
> So it will be kinda short if your reading it like a chaptered fic. 
> 
> Updates will most likely be slow

Magnus was many things; he was strong, dignified, and he was terrifying. But in that moment, as he chased a handful of pills with another glass of whiskey... In that moment he felt none of those words applied to him. No word but one applied to him. Empty. He felt nothing anymore; nothing except the small rush he felt when getting high, but even that was fading with the weak stuff so he'd move on to stronger stuff. More and more and more, a never ending spiral of drugs and alcohol and numbness. 

He wiped his face, standing up, and made it over to his bed. Groaning, he laid down and fumbled for his phone; the effects finally starting to kick in. He clumsily dialed Catarina's number and waited until he heard her pick up to start speaking. "Cat I need you to bring me some more pills; my back is acting up again." He heard her softly sigh. Maybe calling her was a bad idea. 

She and Ragnor knew about the pills and the cocaine, so maybe asking her for more wasn't a good idea. He was desperate. He waited a little longer, not sure if she had hung up on him. Finally she replied, and it wasn't the answer he was expecting. "Sure, I'll bring you some tomorrow morning." He blinked, not sure if he was hallucinating her response, but he wasn't gonna argue either way. "Thanks Cat, this is why I love you." He heard a click and closed his eyes. Tomorrow would be a good day; he could feel it.

••••

Alec was busy all the time, though this was understandable. Being known as the "best sober coach in the state" brought in quite a bit of business. As Alec was sitting pondering this at his desk during his lunch break, two people walked in. He flipped through his schedule- he didn't have any openings for meetings, for at least a few weeks. He looked up, suprised. "Hello, um, do I have you scheduled for a meeting?" He asked. 

They looked worried and irritated. That was how most of his customers looked, actually. He listened as they began to explain. Well, the woman did; the man just continued to look grumpy. "I'm Catarina, and this is my friend, Ragnor. We need you to coach our friend, Magnus Bane. We think he might be a drug addict and we want to get him sober before this spirals out of hand. We know you are booked for months, but whatever other clients are paying... We will pay double that- no, triple that. This is important to us; will you help us?" She said, looking at him and he swore, out of all his clients' friends, none of them had looked this deeply concerned for their loved ones. 

He nodded. He didn't know when he would be able to meet with this man- perhaps they would need to meet after the office officially closed? "Yes, I will help your friend. When can he meet with me, so I can assess the situation?" Catarina grinned at him. "Come with us." He nodded, understanding. He grabbed his coat, and with no hesitation followed them out the door.

••••

Magnus paced the loft, waiting for Catarina. He sighed- he wanted the pills. He'd already done two lines earlier, after running into one of Camille's friends in a gas station. He looked up when he heard the door unlock. His excitement faded when Catarina and Ragnor walked in with a man who was definitely not the bottle of pills he had asked for. He frowned at Catarina. 

"Catarina, darling, who is this friend that you have brought over? I wasn't aware I had accepted an open invitation into my home." He asked, trying to hide the annoyance in his tone and failing. The man walked over and reached out a hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Alec Lightwood. I'm a sober coach that your friends have enlisted to help you, Magnus." Magnus frowned, sputtering. They had to be joking. A sober coach? They got him a baby sitter? They couldn't be serious. "I don't need a babysitter." The man frowned now, mirroring his expression. "I'm not a babysitter." He said, sounding very offended. 

Magnus rolled his eyes, ignoring the man. "How dare you both go behind my back?! I'm fine! I'm not a drug addict." He exclaimed, addressing the two people who had previously been his loyal friends. Catarina actually laughed at him. "Are you serious right now, Magnus? Ever since you got together with and were dumped by Camille, you've lost your way. And as your friends, we want to help you. This is the best way." Catarina's voice grew softer. Patient, condescending. As though she were talking to a child. 

He took a deep breath and was about to yell at her again, but this "Alec" butt in. Boy, he wasn't liking him so far. "I'm very good at my job, trust me. Your friends want the best for you. This will be a good thing." Magnus frowned at his traitorous friends. "I don't have a choice, do I?" They all smiled at him, and in perfect unison, gave him the answer. It almost pained him to hear it.  
"No." He sighed, hanging his head. He had no choice. Bye bye, drugs. Hello miserable, sober life. Boy, he wasn't looking forward to this roller coaster.


	2. Day one clean

Magnus was still enraged that his so-called friends had called the sober coach on him. That Alec guy had made him give up his stash and had had the audacity to tell him he had a "strong dependency- but not a full blown addiction" after only just meeting him. And now his new babysitter had spent the night here, citing that "the first few nights are an emotionally trying time." 

He huffed, sitting down in his favorite chair. It was his first day clean and he wasn't feeling too excited. He was actually feeling an overflow of emotions, but excited most definitely was not one of them. 

He needed coffee; that's what he needed. Coffee might wake him up from this nightmare.   
He got up and headed to the kitchen. Their coffee maker was crappy at best and made awful coffee, but it was still coffee. He'd drink anything if it could end this very bad dream.

He banged on the coffee machine when it doesn't work- after all the shit he'd had to go through this morning, now this?! He was always a relatively calm person, but for some reason, this pushed him over the edge. Without giving it a thought, and feeling oddly detached from his own body, he picked up the coffee pot and hurled it at the wall. He wasn't sure he even really knew why he threw it- the rage in his head dissipated as soon as the coffee machine hit the ground. He knew he'd woken up people but he didn't care about them. He didn't care about much anything.

To his dismay, Alexander walked in and rubbed his eyes wearily.

"Did you throw your coffee pot at the wall?" Magnus shrugged, setting down his mug.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." He answered testily, watching Alec look sleepily at the coffee pot on the ground, and then the small dent in the wall.

"Well, I'll assume this is because of the detox and that you don't have extreme anger issues that cause you to throw coffee pots. If you do have anger issues, I may need to speak to your friends about not telling me beforehand." Magnus sighed and looked at him.

"What are you doing up? It's too early for your doctor mumbo jumbo." He stared as Alec actually laughed at him. Seriously? What was wrong with this guy?

"We have to talk about the rules of how recovery works, and I thought coffee would help at this hour, but clearly that's not an option, so come on." Magnus groaned and followed him over to the couch. This was not how he planned today was gonna go. He sat down as Alec started listing off rules and guidelines, slipping in some "you can do it" bullshit. It was honestly depressing to listen to, and made him want a drink way stronger than coffee, but he supposed he wasn't allowed to have what he wanted.

Finally, Alec was done with his monologue and Magnus sighed, rubbing his face. It was going to be a long day. He groaned as Alec asked him if he agreed to the rules, and if he understood that this was all so he could get better. He rolled his eyes.

"If I had a choice, I'd say I don't. But you're still here, so I guess I have no choice but to agree." He watched Alec heave a heavy sigh and nod, forcing a- very fake- smile. 

"Thank you for making the right choice."  
So began day one of hell.

••••

Alec hadn't slept too well, if he was being honest. He was nervous about this job he had taken with Magnus- he really didn't seem to want to get better. Alec had always worked with people who had a hard time accepting the truth, but never to this extent. He had gotten the low-down and the stash from Magnus' friends the other day, and based on their descriptions and the concentrations of the medications, he was able to get an idea of Magnus' situation. He didn't seem to be a drug addict. He was definitely situationally dependent on them, which could easily lead to addiction, and Alec also knew from experience that sometimes cases like these were harder than cases with actual addicts. The harder part was that Magnus was still in serious denial about his situation. Despite this, Alec had faith in his ability to reform even the most hopeless addicts.

Alec sat up suddenly in his bed when he heard a loud crash in the next room. He leaped out of bed and raced to the source of the sound. He found himself in the kitchen, where, lying in a sad sort of resignation on the floor, was a broken coffee pot. Magnus was standing over it, staring blankly at it. He didn't seem to understand what happened so Alec could rule out the possibility of it being an act of rage. Memory issues and emotional bursts were common withdrawal symptoms. Alec decided to go the gentler route. 

"Did you throw your coffee pot at the wall?" He asked quietly. Of course, he got a snarky answer back, but that seemed to be the norm with Magnus. Alec tried again to lighten Magnus' mood.  
"Well, I'll assume this is because of the detox and that you don't have extreme anger issues that cause you to throw coffee pots. If you do have anger issues, I may need to speak to your friends about not telling me beforehand." He joked, watching for any signs of, well, any kind of nonaggression. Nothing. In fact, Magnus seemed to be getting more hostile. He watched as Magnus frowned at him.

"What are you doing up? It's too early for your doctor mumbo jumbo." Alec laughed, though he was not sure why. He'd just never seen a client so full of anger, especially directed at him for some reason. Magnus was a challenge. It was refreshing.

Alec shook off the thought and stopped laughing. They had to talk about the rules of recovery now.  
"We have to talk about the rules of how recovery works, and I thought coffee would help at this hour, but clearly that's not an option, so come on."

Alec led Magnus to the couch in the living room and sat. Then he began to explain to a stony-faced Magnus his plan of attack. It was a fairly simple process.

"Well, to begin with, I- by request of your friends- will be staying here. Where, exactly, in here is to be determined by them, and of course, you can have a say as well. It is your house, after all. As far as rules go, this is going to be pretty clean cut and to-the-point, so listen up. No drugs, no liquor, no parties. Your curfew is seven o'clock every night. You have therapy sessions three days a week. There will be a camping trip coming up soon, that all of my patients and coworkers will be attending. You most attend the camping trip and if you relapse- which we all have faith you won't, because we all believe in you. But... If you do relapse, you can choose whether you'd like to continue with me or go to someone else, but you will, of course, have to go to therapy sessions as long as I or my coworkers believe you need it." Alec paused, letting all the information settle. By the looks of it, the info had settled pretty quickly because Magnus looked angry.

"Do you agree?" He sighed. Magnus agreed, with a snarky line about how he really didn't have a choice. Alec ignored that. Magnus, at the very least, was not as delusional as Alec had previously thought. Even if he refused to accept that his lifestyle was hazardous to his health, at least Magnus could understand that Alec would not take "no" for an answer.

"Thank you for making the right choice." This would be tough- he could feel it in his bones.


	3. Venting session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the venting session about everyone's favorite hag oops I mean vampire. It's time for the trio to let out their feelings about Camille, can Alec stomach what hears? Can Magnus?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder this has slow updates :) I hope you like it

Magnus sat on his couch, feeling like a hostage. Alec had forced him into his first therapy session, which apparently was group therapy. Seeing as how Catarina and Ragnor were sitting on chairs beside him.

He frowned as Alec sat down across from them and opened his mouth. Saying something about a venting session. Magnus wasn't listening until he heard Camille's name and his friends' loud cheers. He glared at Alec.

"You want us to sit here and trash-talk her?" He watched as Alec shook his head, emphasizing the word "vent." As if that made it better somehow. He frowned as his friends fell over themselves in their eagerness to blame and trash-talk Camille first.

"Hold on, let's not all talk at once. Catarina, you can go first." Alec's words silenced both of them. Catarina smiles and settled into her chair before beginning.

"That crazy whore messed up all our lives and I'm glad she's gone." He watched as Alec stared, appalled by the description of her, but continued on to ask her how Camille made her feel, and request her to give some examples. Magnus noted the long breath Catarina took before launching into her rant.

"That woman was the devil. You want proof? Oh, I have proof. That crazy bitch threw her stiletto at my head! She actually hit me in the head with her shoe! She's crazy and I hate her. I'm glad we will never see her again." Magnus flinched a bit at the repeated use of the word "crazy." Or was it not a flinch, but rather a withdrawal symptom? He wasn't sure.

Magnus sighed as they continued to bash Camille. It was starting to get to him. He shifted uncomfortably as Alec asked him a bunch of probing questions that he, of course, didn't answer. Soon enough, Ragnor started up again about Camille never showing up for dates and Magnus wasn't sure why or how but he felt himself lose it again. It was almost like an out-of-body experience because next thing he knew, he'd kicked over the chair and was standing over them, not sure what to do. Maybe this was where he was supposed to calm down. But then Alec set him off again, speaking the words he hated the most.

"Are you okay?" The amount of concern was so sickening. As if Alec cared about him, or even understood him.

"No, I'm not okay! I'm sick of sitting here and listening to you all bash her! Was she perfect? No! ...But I loved her, dammit, and that should count for something! My feelings should count for something, but clearly they don't because all you guys do is spout hate about her. And you want me to do that too, but I can't. Because I love her!"

Magnus stood there, shaking, as he watched Alec stand up- way too calm for someone being screamed at- and asked Magnus to go to his room so they could speak privately. Magnus frowned deeply.

"You can't send me to my room!" Then, out of surprise towards Alec's expression more than anything else, he went to his room. What was he thinking? Alec had never terrified Magnus more than in that moment. He wanted to run, far away. He wanted to be anywhere other than his room, waiting for Alec to join him there. He didn't want to know what he was awaiting.

••••

Alec entered the living room, ready to start therapy. He had had to practically force Magnus to come, but his friends, on the other hand... Not so much. They seemed almost too eager to participate, which was... Good. He supposed.

He sat down and started talking almost immediately.

"Okay, guys, this is a bit different than normal therapy, seeing as it's more than just Magnus and I. Let's actually not think of this as a therapy session, and think of it as more of a venting session about... Um, Camille, is it?" He was fairly sure that was her name. Almost too excitedly, Catarina and Ragnor started arguing about who would talk about Camille first. Magnus looked, as usual, checked out of the conversation and vaguely angry. Alec hoped he could get through to him today.

"You want us to sit here and trash-talk her?" Magnus asked, glaring at him. Alec bit his lip. That wasn't exactly the connotation he had intended to get across, but he had been under the impression that all of them hated her. Nothing brought people closer together like a shared enemy.

Perhaps that had been a moment of poor judgment on his part.

"Hold on, let's not all talk at once. Catarina, you can go first." He had picked Catarina because she looked ready to punch Ragnor if he got picked first. Alec didn't really understand this intense energy the two had. He listened to her story, having to remind himself once or twice that it was her opinion, no matter how... Vulgar it was. He listened to the story, noticing Magnus' stormcloud-mood grow darker as Catarina went on, and then turned to Ragnor. 

"I believe it's your turn to talk." Alec could only hope his words would be chosen more carefully than Catarina had. Ragnor nodded, shrugging.

"She was an awful woman. She didn't plan dates, she barely showed up to anything Magnus invited her to, and when she did, she was very rude about it. Everything she did was a test that none of us could ever pass. Magnus would plan trips that she'd cancel the day of. She never remembered his birthday or their anniversary. She never did anything for him. For every dozen roses he sent her, she gave him one, literally and metaphorically. She gave him enough love to keep him pacified but no more than that. Look where he is now." Alec looked at Magnus with open curiosity. He looked more angry than he had before they had started. Alec addressed Magnus.

"How did that feel, Magnus? When she didn't show up for dates or remember your important events? Did that hurt?" Magnus' friends had confirmed he was more prone to substance abuse on the important days, like her birthday or their anniversary, so he didn't feel the need to ask that question.

Magnus, silent, looked pensive; seeming to slowly internalize more of his anger which roiled around in his mind and on his tongue, and poured from his heart in waves.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked. This seemed to blow a fuse.

"No, I'm not okay! I'm sick of sitting here and listening to you all bash her! Was she perfect? No! ...But I loved her, dammit, and that should count for something! My feelings should count for something, but clearly they don't because all you guys do is spout hate about her. And you want me to do that too, but I can't. Because I love her!"

Alec stilled, reigning in whatever surprise he might have felt at Magnus' reaction. He knew irrational anger was a side effect of detox but even this was a bit over the top. Then again, he supposed, this was Magnus. "Over the top" seemed to be a specialty of his.

"Magnus, will you please go to your room and try to take some deep breaths. I'll join you in a bit, and we can talk after you've calmed down." Alec requested, trying to diffuse the situation. Magnus yet again yelled at him, but now he looked more surprised at himself, and scared. Maybe this was a vulnerability? Alec hoped so. Vulnerability meant something was getting through to him. After three days on a detox project he hadn't even intended on being a part of, if not for the large sum of money he was being paid to do it, he was tired. Magnus was a difficult person to understand, but it looked like Alec might have gotten his first glimpse. And what he saw, more than anything else, was fear. Not anger.

To his surprise, Magnus went to his room without another word. At least he cooperated occasionally, Alec thought to himself.

Alec rubbed his face and turned to Magnus' friends.

"I'll go speak with him, but you two can leave. Thank you for participating." They both nodded, finally quiet, and Alec headed to Magnus' room. It was time to fix this.


	4. One month celebration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's one month into Magnus' drug rehabilitation and Alec is ready to celebrate. Magnus is avid about staying as far away from Alec as possible both emotionally and physically. Within a few hours circumstances change but will feelings?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone I'm very sorry I've been awol on completeing this story. Everything has been tough lately and I didn't ever feel inspired to write. I want to make this story as good as possible for you so I waited until I was inspired to continue again so here we are. 
> 
> Big thank you to my friends for helping me beta and too the person who left this story a kudos and helped me start writing this again.  
> 

Magnus woke up to the sound of laughter. That stupid annoying laughter that he had the unfortunate enough to have become familiar with. Ever since Alec, that stupid drug guide- or whatever he called himself- had moved in, all he ever heard was the stupid laughter of Alec and Magnus' two best friends. He walked into the kitchen to see the most horrific sight.

 

Alec, Ragnor, and Catarina drinking tea together... At 5 in the morning. He went directly over to the cofee machine because if he had to deal with this scene, he needed caffeine. Magnus sat down with his steaming mug and sipped his coffee, which Alec took as an invitation to talk. Magnus ignored him until Catarina shoved him and he looked up.

 

"Ow, what?" Catarina frowns "he asked you a question " Magnus shrugged and Alec laughed "I asked if you know what today is?" Magnus smiled "oh is today the day your leaving? Why didn't you say so I'll help you pack " Alec frowned something Magnus didn't see often but it scared him.

"Remember our talk the other day I thought we agreed." Magnus sighed could he even call it a talk? It was more like Alec scolding him and he had to sit there and listen. He looks down in his coffee "what's today?" He mumbles. Alec smiles again and looks at him " it's your first month clean." Magnus shrugs he supposed it was a big deal but he wasn't gonna tell Alec that. He listen as Alec went through all the symptoms he should have a week in. He was fairly certain he didn't have any of those but best not to argue. Well for now.

Magnus sighed and looked at Alec who went on some tangent about celebrating milestones. Magnus as usual didn't listen until he heard Alec say that they had to go to the park and he sighs "I don't wanna go to the park." Alec smiles that stupid smile he had "good thing I didn't ask then."Magnus stood up and looked at his friends for any sort of backup which unsurprisingly he didn't get.

 

He mumbled something about dying their lotion exotic colors like blue and green and as Alec dragged him all the way to Central Park. They finally after what felt like hours of walking sat down in the grass. Maybe this was the fatigue Alec had mentioned cause he was nearly ready to pass out in the grass.

 

Luckily if he did he wouldn't look to stupid cause there was already 3 other people passed out on benches and the sidewalk.Magnus leaned forward on his elbows looking at Alec. Sometimes Magnus wondered how someone so pretty could be such a hardass it just didn't make sense. He slumped down looking away from him now "you know it's not smart to be out here so early we will get mugged." He watched Alec lay back against the grass and shrug "I took karate for 10 years I think I can keep us safe from 12 year old pick pocketers."

 

Magnus rolled over to eye him not sure if he was serious but decided not to ask. He didn't need to know about Alec's life it wasn't like they'd be around each other forever. "So your idea of celebrating a week of being clean is by getting us mugged and killed at 5:45 in the morning?" Alec leaned over and nodded god sometimes Magnus didn't get how he just let everything roll off him. "Well if they are coming to get us at 5:45 then we have a whole 15 minutes to get to know each other." Magnus frowned of course this was a trap. "Yeah I'm not doing therapy this early in the morning."

 

He frowned again as Alec went on some rant about the difference between therapy and normal interaction until Magnus notified he stopped short. He looked up at him and Alec sighed before trying again " I wanna get to know you Magnus will you just try this." Magnus sighed he didn't see the point of getting to know Alec but clearly this was important to him so he could at least half ass it.

 

Magnus looked at Alec who finally got the hint if this was gonna happen that he had to go first. He watched Alec think for a second before smiling "ok let's start easy what's your favorite smell" Magnus snorted but answered " ok um orange?" Alec smiled thoughtfully before replying "lemon"   
Magnus rolled his eyes ok so what if they both liked fruit smells it didn't make them friends.

 

He guessed this wouldn't go on for long. Though what felt like minutes later they were laying side by side on the grass arguing like friends over what sandwhich they liked the most. He makes a gagging sound and Alec shoves him lightly "come on they are delicious!" Magnus shakes his head " no that sounds awful! Apple Brie? It's fruit and cheese!" Alec sighs they'd been on this question for it felt like a while Alec just wouldn't go down.

 

"It's amazing! Apples with Brie and pecans with chicken and lettuce on a baguette it's literally holy!" Magnus rubbed his face "no it's literally the work of the devil! " Alec scoffed at him " coming from the guy who said grilled cheese was his favorite sandwich!" Magnus nodded "maybe cause it's delicious And better than your train wreck of a sandwich "

 

Magnus sat up abruptly and looked over at Alec "you know what let's finish this right now! My favorite diner is 2 blocks away taste the sandwich and tell me it's not better than yours!" Alec sits up as well and nods "you know what let's do this." Magnus pauses "wait we can't have grilled cheese at 6 am " Alec laughs helping him up "Magnus it's 1 in the afternoon" that's when time caught up to him almost instantly and Magnus noticed the park was full of families and the sun was out.

 

They'd been out here talking for hours which wasn't something he had expected. They got up and walked over to magnus' favorite diner it was more of a greasy spoon than a real diner but the food was his favorite.Alec sat across from him and he orders them two grilled cheeses and waters. That's when out of nowhere alec asks him his least favorite question "so how'd you find this place. Magnus shrugs the story wasn't exactly the happiest one he had.

 

"It's a stupid story there's no point in telling you." Alec nodded and Magnus was suprised when he didn't push it. Soon after the food came out and Magnus rubbed his hands together. "Let's do this!" Alec nodded and Magnus watched him take a bite before taking his own and he grinned in triumph as Alec admitted that it was a good sandwich.

 

Though he had to ruin it with saying that his was better. Alec ordered them two more and so there they stayed in a tiny booth eating sandwich after sandwich talking about dumb things like superheroes and and magic powers. Then to his amazement it was 4 o clock and they had to head back to his house. Magnus looked over at Alec who was looking up directions to make sure they were headed the right way.

 

"You know your ok when you don't have the worlds largest stick up your ass." Alec looked up and laughed "your ok when you aren't playing for the title of the worlds biggest jerk you know that." Magnus laughed a little too as he opened the door. "You know even though today was ok that we aren't friends and that I'm not done fighting to make you leave right?" Magnus tried not to notice how Alec's face fell a little but he was suprised how quickly he recovered.

 

"Don't worry I'm fully aware." He said quietly before walking off and at that moment Magnus noted that maybe just maybe Alec was human and that he had hurt him. That wasn't exactly a feeling that he wanted to relive. So he sat down on his bed and closed his eyes. Letting the exhaustion from celebrating today wash over and put him out. Though strangely unlike every other night. He was kinda looking forward to tomorrow.

•••••

Alec sat in between Ragnor and Catarina, laughing, as they told him a story about one of her patients at the hospital, who had a pet monkey.

 

“THE MONKEY'S NAME WAS RAGNOR!” She said, laughing harder. They were all close to having tears in their eyes when they heard footsteps. Alec turned to see Magnus get coffee and look in their direction, very displeased. He sat at the table, and Alec picked up his tea, deciding to attempt to provoke a conversation.

 

“Magnus, do you know what today is?” No response.  
“Magnus?” Yet again no response.  
“Magnus.” He said, a third time, which prompted Catarina to hit Magnus, who looked up unhappily.  
"Ow, what?” Catarina frowned and told Magnus to answer Alec's question. Magnus only gave a shrug. Alec laughed it off. I asked if you knew what today is?” He said again. That earned him a cocky smile from Magnus.

 

“Oh is today the day you're leaving? Why didn’t you say so; I’d help you pack.” Alec frowned at him. He couldn’t believe Magnus was acting out again after their talk.

 

“Remember our talk the other day? I thought we had come to an agreement.” With that, Magnus sighed and asked what today was in a dramatically disinterested voice. Alec smiled at him and leaned back in his chair.

 

“Today is your first month clean.” Magnus had no reaction and Alec wasn’t sure why that surprised him. He decided that now was as good as ever to remind Magnus where he should be in withdrawal symptoms. So, by now, you can expect to be experiencing depressive episodes, mood issues, cravings, sleep issues, fatigue, agitation, increased appetite, and unpleasant dreams.”

 

Magnus wasn’t really paying attention to him, but that wasn’t new. Alec decided to tell him a few exciting facts about celebrating milestones, but still nothing. No reaction. So he decided a different approach. So, to celebrate today, we are going to the park!” That got Magnus' attention real quick. Magnus told him that he didn’t want to go to the park. Alec grinned.

 

“Good thing I didn’t ask, then.” With that, he dragged away a very upset Magnus, and they headed towards the park. What was probably fifteen minutes later, they finally arrived. Alec noticed Magnus looked uncharacteristically exhausted, so Alec let him sit down for a moment. He watched as Magnus leaned on his elbows.

 

Alec couldn’t help but wonder how someone who seemed to have it all- the looks, the friends, the career- just threw it all away because of a girl. Magnus snapped him out of his thoughts by saying something about getting mugged, and Alec looked down at him.

 

“I took karate for ten years. I think I can keep us safe from twelve-year-old pickpocketers.” Magnus asked if getting them mugged at 5:45 AM was his idea of celebrating. Alec decided to used his snarky comment to his advantage.

 

“Well, if we are getting mugged at 5:45, then we have a whole 15 minutes to kill. Let's get to know each other.” He watched Magnus frown and say something about therapy, which Alec had to remind him that this wasn’t. So Alec tried again.  
“I just wanna get to know you, Magnus, can you please try to cooperate?” After a few minutes of silence, Alec decided he’d have to go first.

 

“Okay, let’s start easy. What's your favorite smell?” Magnus told him that it was orange, and Alec smiled before saying that his was lemon. After a while of this, Magnus started to open up, and before he knew it, they were arguing playfully over things like sandwiches. Magnus was making a gagging sound and Alec was shoving him playfully.

 

“Come on, they are delicious!" Alec said, and Magnus shook his head.  
"No, that sounds awful! Apple Brie? It's fruit and cheese! They don't go together!" Alec sighed. They'd been on this question for what felt like a while, but he wouldn’t give up and accept this slander.

 

“It's amazing! Apples with Brie, and pecans with chicken, and lettuce on a baguette. It's a holy combination!" He watched Magnus rub his face in exasperation.  
"No, it's literally the work of the devil! " Alec scoffed.

 

"Coming from the guy who said grilled cheese was his favorite sandwich!" To that, Magnus nodded. Maybe because it’s delicious and way better than your train wreck of a sandwich!” Alec rolled his eyes, which caused Magnus to sit up. Alec looked over at him. Magnus told that his favorite diner was two blocks away, and they should settle the sandwich debate for good. Alec nodded.

He didn’t see a reason why they shouldn’t do this. Magnus made a comment about how they couldn’t eat grilled cheese at 6 AM. Alec looked at him strangely and laughed, helping Magnus up.  
“Magnus, it’s one in the afternoon.” He was surprised that Magnus hadn’t noticed that it had gotten so late, but he didn’t bring it up.

 

They arrived at the diner and Alec let Magnus order them two grilled cheese sandwiches. Alec decided to ask where Magnus found this place, because it didn’t seem very... Him. Magnus gave him a bitter, two-word response, so Alec decided to not push it. The food came out, and, with Magnus’ excited response, Alec hesitantly bit into his. He had to admit it was delicious. He looked at Magnus, who was eagerly awaiting his response, and grinned.

 

“It's good, I’ll give you that, but... Mine's still better.”  
From there on, they ordered sandwich after sandwich, and the conversation shifted from stupid topics, like favorite birds, to superheroes and magic powers. Suddenly, it was four o'clock, and Alec had to take Magnus home. Alec walked him home, and he had to admit that he had had a really good time. Who knew, maybe they could really be friends? He was broken out of his thoughts when Magnus said something.

 

"You know, you're okay when you don’t have the world's largest stick up your ass.” Alec laughed at that and decided to be snarky back.  
“You know, you're pretty okay when you aren’t playing for the title of the world's largest jerk.” With that, Magnus actually laughed back. Alec opened the door, and Magnus said one last thing to him before they went inside.

 

“You do know that, even though today was okay, we aren't friends. And that I'm not done fighting to make you leave. Right?" Alec let his face fall for a second before recovering. So maybe they weren’t friends.

 

“Don't worry I'm fully aware." He said quietly, before walking to his room.  
He laid on his bed and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to be as hurt by that comment as he was, but for some reason, he really wanted Magnus to like him.

 

He sighed, letting himself drift off, but tonight was different. Unlike every other night, he wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow.


End file.
